Banding

Unfortunately this is not the “good” kind of banding – like to going to a music concert 🙂 but rather, the “bad” kind of banding, which is a bothersome artifact that can ruin a perfectly good picture.

While editing the photos from my trip, I came across two pictures with very pronounced “concentric rings” in the sky. I didn’t know what this artifact was, so I posed it as a question on a photography forum. A kind gentleman named Mark came to my rescue with the answer. He told me it is called “banding” and it occurs when there are not enough color values to fill in a great expanse of the same color (i.e. blue sky). The solution to this is to shoot in RAW (which I do not) (but might start) and remove the banding in post-processing. Otherwise, adding noise to the image will lessen the effect. I also found that converting to B&W helped, although that wasn’t my first choice for this photo.

I am so bummed because this was one of my favorite pictures from my trip. I could literally see the fog “rolling in” over Santa Cruz from the vantage point of the UCSC campus high on a hill. I thought I’d show you the various photos and get your input if you would be so kind as to comment. 🙂

In the end, I muted the colors and while the banding is not gone, I think it is far less noticeable. I am going to continue to dink with the image, and if anyone has any advice or experience, I’d be happy to hear it. Thanks!

hi there!

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